Sheet-metal display-can.



PATENTED DEC. 10, 1907. P. RUDOLPHI.

SHEET METAL DISPLAY CAN.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1905.

THE rmmzls PETERS 5a., WASHINGTON, n. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' FRANK RUDOLPHI, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAN COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHEET-METAL DISPLAY-CAN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK RUnoLPHI, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in SheetWIetal Display-Cans, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in sheet metal display cans or boXes for containing, shipping, storing and displaying for sale crackers, bakery goods and other like articles.

The sheet metal display cans to which my invention relates are large square, or rectangular returnable cans, usually some 10 or 12 inches in each dimension, having the bottom, three sides and cover ordinarily made of tin plate, and the front plate of sheet brass or other burnishable metal, so that when the can is returned to the bakery, after its contents have been sold, to be refilled with fresh crackers, its front plate may be subjected to the action of a bufling wheel and reburnished, to give the can a new and bright appearance, suitable for containing the fresh crackers or bakery goods, with which it is to be refilled. For a good many years past these cracker display cans have, ordinarily, had the letters of the sign orname of the bakery whose goods are put into them, stamped up in raised letters on the sheet brass front plate itself of the can, in the advertising mat or space left therefor just above the display opening in the front plate, which is closed by the glass or transparent plate of the display can. But in the past two years, or such matter, however, these display cans have been largely made with an additional opening in the brass front plate, and with a removable sheet metal sign plate Which fits inside the front plate and closes the upper or sign opening therein, and which inside fitting sign plate is held removably in place by cleats or pocket pieces soldered to the brass front plate on the inside thereof adjacent to the sign opening therein, as shown for eX- ample in the Barnard H. Larkin Patents Nos. 764,296 and 764,297, of July 5, 1904. While this Larkin construction of display can with inside fitting removable sign plate possesses many advantages over the old construction where the ,letters of the sign were stamped up on the brass front plate in raised or embossed letters (doing away as it does entirely with the obstruction offered by the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August '7. 1905. Serial No- 272.958.

Patented Dec. 10, 1907.

raised letters to the buffing operation, and to the lodgment of bufling'powder around the raised letters at the bases thereof); it is, nevertheless, open to certain objections, such as the weakening of the brass front plate by reason of the additional opening therein, increased cost incident to numerous additional parts or pieces required in its manufacture; and it was also open to a serious sanitary objection incident to the fact that the sheet metal cleats or guide pieces which form the pocket to secure the remov able inside-fitting sign plate cannot be practically soldered on the inside of the brass front, without great danger of producing verdigris or other poisonous compounds, due to the action of fiuX necessary for soldering the sheet metal tin guide or pocket pieces on the brass front plate of the can in the practical manufacture thereof, as it is well known that the ordinary fluxes used in can making produce verdigris when the soldering is done on brass. And, however careful the manufacturer may be in his endeavors to subsequently clean off the verdigris or poisonous compounds from the inside of the brass front plate, there is always danger that some may be left and come in contact with the crackers placed in the can. The object of my invention is to produce sheet metal display can for crackers or other bakery goods, which may be cheaply manu-- factured, and be of a simple, strong and durable construction, and be composed of few parts, and which shall have a removable sheet metal sign plate upon which the name or sign may be conveniently printed or lithographed in colors, and in which the sign plate may be readily removed from the front plate when it is desired to bufi or reburnish the same, and easily and quickly replaced without danger of injury, which will be snugly and securely held in place, in which the brass or burnishable metal front of the can will not be unduly weakened, in which the brass front plate will require no cleats or guides to be soldered thereto and thus produce verdigris or poisonous compounds on the inside of the front plate, and in which the can, as a whole, will present a neat and fineappearance, as required in display cans.

My invention consists in the means I employ to practically accomplish this important object or result; that is to say it consists in a display can having a brass or burnishable metal front plate, furnished with the customary display opening in its lower portion, and removable inside fitting glass plate for closing the same, and provided with a countersink or recess above the display opening, in combination with a removable sheet metal flexible spring sign plate fitting on the outside of the front plate in the countersink or recess formed therein to receive it, the front plate and spring sign plate having interengaging holding devices, preferably tenons and lips, adapted to be withdrawn or disengaged from each other by the bending or bowing of the flexible spring sign plate. To facilitate the bending or bowing of the spring sheet metal sign plate to disengage its ends or tenons, or holding devices rom those on the front plate, the front plate is, preferably, furnished with a small hole through which the end of a pencil, or other instrument may be inserted to outwardly bend the spring sign plate. As the sign plate is flexible or of spring sheet metal, it may be easily thus bent or outwardly bowed preparatory to inserting it in place on the front plate, and to enable it to be easily removed therefrom.

My invention also consists in the novel construction of parts and devices and in the novel combinations of parts and devices herein shown or described.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a display can embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a detail view of the spring sign plate. Fig. 7 is a detail top or plan view of one corner of the can body. 7

In the drawing A represents the three sheet metal upright side plates and B the sheet brass or burnishable metal front plate forming the body of the can,C the bottom plate and D the hinged cover. The bottom plate C is secured by external folded seams c to the lower edges of thesides A and B.

At the upright corners of the body the sheet metal sides A and front side B are united by internal folded seams a. The upright side plates A of the body have at their upper ends horizontal right angle flanges a preferably about one-half inch in width, and angle flanges a the lower edges of which meet and are soldered to the vertical sides A, thus forming hollow triangular stiffening bars or braces A at the upper end of the body at three sides thereof, and at its remaining or front side a similar hollow triangular stiffening and strengthening bar A having a corresponding horizontal flange a and angle flange a is provided. At the corners of the body the meeting horizontal flanges a and the meeting angle flanges a of the hollow strengthening bars or braces A A overlap each other, and are securely soldered together, thus forming a continuous hollow strengthening bar or brace all around the upper end of the body.

The sheet brass front plate B of the body has a display opening B in its lower portion surrounded by an inturned angle flange b, and closed by a removable glass plate E, held in place at its lower edge by a fixed guide E and at its upper portion by pivoted plate holders F, preferably of sheet metal and of triangular shape, and hinged to the upright sides A A of the can by rivets f, preferably located but slightly below a horizontal line extending through the contactin end f of the holder F against the glass p ate E. The hinged glass holders F have feet f which bear against the bottom plate of the can, and serve as stops to limit the turning movement of the pivotal holders. The

sheet metal glass plate holders F are furnished each with right angle flanges f on their inclined side to cause the same to properly engage the glass plate E near the end thereof, and which also serve to strengthen and stiffen the sheet metal holders. At their upright and horizontal edges the holders F have folded right angle flanges f, which serve to stiffen and brace the glass holders.

The sheet brass front B has at its upper portion a countersink or recess B surrounded by a marginal wall or angle flange b and forming a recess or seat to receive the external fitting removable sheet metal spring sign plate G, which is provided with tenons g g at its ends that project through slots b inthe flanges b of the countersink or sign receiving recess B in the brass front plate B. The spring sheet metal sign plate G fits snugly in its recess B in the front plate at both its ends and at its upper and lower edges, and it is inserted in place and its tenons inserted through the slots' b therefor by springing, bending or bowing the signv plate outward, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. To facilitate the removal of the spring sheet metal si in plate from the brass front plate B, the latter is provided with a small hole bflpreferably at the middle portion of the sign seat or recess B through which a pencil or other small instrument may be inserted to outwardly bend, or bow the flexible spring sign plate, and thus free it from its seat and withdraw its tenons g 'from the slots or holding devices 6 on the.

brass front plate B of the can. The brass front plate B has a fold b at its upper edge to give a smooth finish thereto, and it'flts snugly against and is soldered directly to and supported by the. hollow triangular strengthening bar A at the front side of the can. The thin glass front plate is thus given a strong support at its upper end by the bar A and a much stronger and better construction than those heretofore used, where a slot or passage way is left between the bar A and the front plate for the removal and insertion of an inside fitting sign plate.

The hinged cover D has right angle integral flanges d at three of its edges, and a front flange (l of a separate piece, and preferably of brass to correspond to the brass front B. The lower edges of the cover flanges d d have ourves'or coils (Z embracing a wire D which completely surrounds the cover and forms also the pivotof its hinge.

lVhile I prefer to use the interengaging holding devices on the spring sign plate and front plate which I have illustrated in the drawing, and consisting of tenons on the sign plate and lips or slots on the front plate for holding the removable externally fitting spring sign plate in its seat on the outside of the front plate, and to permit the disengagement or withdrawal of these holding devices from each other by the spring or bowing movement of the flexible sheet metal sign plate, it will of course be understood by those skilled in the art that the form and construction of these interengaging holding devices may be greatly varied without departing from the principle of my invention.

I do not herein claim the vertically swinging glass holders F pivoted to the upright sides of the can adjacent to the front thereof, in their combination with the front plate and the inside removable fitting glass plate, as the same will be made the subject of a divisional application.

I claim:

1. A display can having a sheet metal front plate furnished with a countersink orv sunken panel surrounded on all sides thereof by an integral wall or flange to receive a sign plate, and an external removable spring sheet metal sign plate fitting in said countersink or sunken panel of the front plate, said sign plate and front plate having interengaging holding devices disengageable by springing or bowing the sign plate, said front plate having a hole therein to facilitate the outward bending of the sign plate when it is desired to remove the same, said holding devices consisting in tenons on the sign plate and. slots on the front plate, substantially as specified.

2. In a can, the combination with a front plate having a sign plate seat surrounded on all sides by a marginal wall, of a sheet metal flexible sign plate having tenons at its ends, said front plate having slots to receive said tenons, the bending of the flexible. sign plate withdrawing or disengaging its tenons from the front plate, substantially as specified.

3. In a sheet metal display can, the combination with a can body having a bottom plate, upright side plates, a front strengthening bar and a front display plate fitting at its upper edge against said front strengthening bar and supported thereby and provided with a display opening and with a countersink or recess above its display opening, of an external removable flexible sheet metal sign plate fitting in said. recess or countersink of the front plate, said sign plate and front plate having interengaging holding devices, disengageable by the bending or bowing of the sign plate, substantially as specified.

4. In a rectangular sheet metal display can, the combination with a can body having upright side plates and a front strengthening bar at the upper end of the body and a brass or burnishable metal front plate secured at its upper edge to said strengthening bar and provided with a display opening, and with an external sign plate seat to receive a removable sign plate and a removable external flexible sheet metal sign plate fitting in said external seat on the front plate and interengaging holding devices on the sign plate and front plate disengageable by the bending or bowing of the sign plate for removably securing the sign plate to the front plate, substantially as specified.

5. In a rectangular sheet metal display can, the combination with a can body having upright side plates and an upright front or display plate, a front strengthening bar at the upper end of the can body against which the upperedge of said front or display plate abuts, a removable flexible sheet metal sign plate, and interengaging holding devices on the sign plate and front plate disengageable by the bending or bowing of the front plate so that the sign plate may be removed without slipping it upward between the front plate and the front strengthening bar, thus enabling the front plate to fit against and re ceive support from said. front strengthening bar, substantially as specified.

FRANK RUD OLPI-II.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, PEARL ABRAMS. 

